Synergy's July 2026 price increase: what it means for Perth households

Synergy's annual tariff reset lands on 1 July 2026. Every Synergy residential tariff (A1, Midday Saver, EV Add-On) rises by exactly 2.75%, while the DEBS export rate (what you earn for solar sent to the grid) stays the same. For a typical 6,000 kWh/year Perth household, that means a real bill increase either way: about $65 more a year with no solar, about $32 more with solar and no battery, and about $12 more with solar and a battery. Solar and battery owners still pay more, just a lot less more, and the same price rise also makes their existing system worth slightly more going forward, since every self-consumed kilowatt-hour now avoids a higher grid price.

The short version:

1. No solar: about $65/year more.
2. Solar, no battery: about $32/year more, roughly half the increase a non-solar household absorbs.
3. Solar and battery: about $12/year more, the smallest increase of the three.
4. DEBS export rates: unchanged.

Here's the exact breakdown by household type, and what to do about it before 1 July.

What's changing on 1 July 2026?

All rates shown are GST inclusive.

How much extra will you actually pay?

How much more will a household with no solar pay?

For a Perth household using 6,000 kWh/year on A1:

• Old bill (FY25-26): $1,942 energy + $424 supply = $2,366/year
• New bill (FY26-27): $1,996 energy + $435 supply = $2,431/year
• Increase: $65/year

This is an average. High-usage homes (8,000+ kWh/year) will see about $82 or more annually. Smaller households or flats on 4,000 kWh/year will see about $47 more.

How much more will a solar-only household pay?

A typical 6.6kW system generates around 10,200 kWh/year in Perth, and a household self-consumes a share of that directly rather than exporting it. With no battery, that share is typically around 35% of what the system generates, not 35% of what the household uses. For a 6,000 kWh/year household, that works out to roughly 3,580 kWh/year self-consumed and about 2,420 kWh/year still imported from the grid:

• Old grid bill: $783 energy + $424 supply = $1,207/year
• New grid bill: $804 energy + $435 supply = $1,239/year
• Grid cost increase: $32/year

But the solar you self-consume is now avoiding a higher grid price: each kWh used directly saves 33.26c instead of 32.37c. With ~3,580 kWh/year of self-consumed solar:

• Extra value from self-consumed solar: 3,580 × 0.89c = $32/year

Net impact: your bill still rises by the full $32, there's no getting around paying more for the network charges and the grid electricity you still import. What changes is the flip side: your solar is now avoiding a higher-priced import too, so the same system is worth about $32/year more to you than it was last financial year. The result is a smaller increase than a non-solar home faces (about $32 versus $65), not a frozen bill.

How much more (or less) will a solar and battery household pay?

A 10kWh battery lifts solar self-consumption to around 75% of what the system generates. For a 6.6kW system, that's more solar than a 6,000 kWh/year household actually uses in a year, so a battery this size covers close to 100% of usage directly, cutting grid imports to almost nothing (down from about 2,420 kWh/year without a battery).

Grid cost increase, with imports close to zero: mostly just the higher daily supply charge, about $12/year extra

But self-consumption climbs to around 6,000 kWh/year (essentially the household's full annual usage), up from about 3,580 kWh/year without a battery. Each of those self-consumed kWh is now avoiding a higher grid price:

• Extra value from self-consumed solar: 6,000 × 0.89c = $53/year more

Net: your bill still rises by about $12/year, the small residual grid import and the higher supply charge both cost more. But your battery-backed self-consumption is now worth about $53/year more than before, so the tariff rise strengthens the financial case for the system you already own, even though the bill itself goes up rather than down.

Does the DEBS export rate change too?

No. The Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) rates, 10c/kWh peak (3pm–9pm) and 2c/kWh off-peak, are unchanged.

This matters for the "store vs sell" calculation. With grid import now costing 33.26c and off-peak export earning just 2c, the case for storing solar in a battery rather than exporting it is stronger than before. The avoided-import value of stored solar (33.26c) is now 16.6× the off-peak export rate, up from 16.2× at the current tariff. For the full mechanics of how those export rates are set, see DEBS explained: how Perth's solar feed-in tariff actually works.

Is it worth switching to Midday Saver?

If you have solar, it often is, and this reset doesn't change that logic.

Midday Saver super off-peak (9am–3pm) is now 8.85c/kWh versus the new A1 at 33.26c. If you can shift most of your daytime usage into that window (dishwasher, washing machine, EV charging), you pay 8.85c instead of 33.26c for those hours. The trade-off is the 3pm–9pm peak at 55.33c: if you use a lot of power in the evening without a battery, that can wipe out the daytime saving.

Our calculator compares both tariffs based on your actual usage pattern and tells you which saves you more. For the full break-even math across different usage patterns, see Midday Saver vs A1: which Synergy tariff actually saves you money.

How does the increase affect EV charging costs?

The EV Add-On overnight window (11pm–6am) rises from 19.38c to 19.92c/kWh. For an EV charging 10,000km/year at home (assuming roughly 17kWh/100km = 1,700kWh/year home charging):

• Annual EV charging cost increase: 1,700 × 0.54c = $9/year

Negligible, and if you can shift even 30% of charging to your solar hours (9am–3pm at 8.85c), the savings easily outweigh the overnight rate increase. For the full picture on EV tariffs and smart charging strategies, see electric vehicle charging at home: WA tariffs, costs, and smart strategies.

What should you do before 1 July?

If you don't have solar: Synergy's tariffs tend to rise most years, and each rise adds to what you're paying without generating your own power. A 6.6kW system at current STC rebate levels (about $1,800 off for Perth, Zone 3, 2026) pays back in 3-5 years under the new tariff, and the case gets slightly stronger every time rates go up. See how the STC solar rebate works in Perth for how that $1,800 figure is calculated.

If you have solar but not a battery: Your grid imports are already reduced. But if you're on A1 and self-consuming less than 20% of your solar, switching to Midday Saver might save more than the new tariff's peak rate costs you. Run the numbers.

If you have solar and a battery: The increase marginally improves your payback, since every kWh your battery avoids importing from the grid is now worth an extra 0.89c. Nothing to change. Your setup already handles this automatically.

If you're on Synergy's old plans (Smart Home, SmartPower): These also increase 2.75%. Synergy no longer offers them to new customers; existing customers stay on them until they switch. If you haven't reviewed whether Midday Saver would suit your usage better, now is a good time.

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Use the BillWise calculator to see the projected impact on your specific bill.